I don’t know how much time has passed since we began walking into the tunnel, but it sure felt like an eternity. I might even think it was past midnight, cuz I was more than tired and sleepy. Even though I trusted Kai with his decisions, I was starting to doubt if this route was gonna take us anywhere! We were all tired, and Lay’s condition wasn’t getting any better.

MJ: Kai, this is getting a little out of hand. We’ve been walking for hours now. Are you sure this leads somewhere? Because if were lost, at least we should take a rest. I don’t think Lay can take anymore… or me for that matter of fact.

Kai was walking ahead of me and Lay. He turned around with big eyes and a pout. He shaked his hands in front of him, and then tried to explain how he knew the way and that it was a short time to the other side.

MJ: You told me that the last 2 times I asked you!! Remember we can’t lose much time by getting lost…or attacked… Anyways, I just hope we reach the end soon.

Lay oppa looked at me and smiled, while patting my shoulder. He was slowly walking beside me, since his injury was still hurting him. I looked at him and sympathetically smiled back: who could resist such a smile with those cute dimples.

We kept walking…. Since I was practically falling asleep on my feet, I talked with Lay for a while, as Kai concentrated on getting us through the many arms of the tunnel. I asked him how he got here, and why he became a prisoner. And since I was more calmed, I asked again how he had managed to see LuHan. After many tries I finally understood what Lay was trying to tell me, with an occasional help of Kai’s interpretations and explications. Lay, like every other person that is invited to this game, is a descendant of one of Dr. Lee’s ex-workers. Lay had voluntarily accepted to play the game; he thought it would be an exciting experience. Being so hard working and excelling at all he did, he found that this could be a moment to prove to himself what he was capable of. Sadly, once he got the intro to the game he wanted to back out; he knew these people were total whack jobs, but it was too late. He had to play. So he did, and he got a far way ahead, but failed to pass the building stage; apparently he hadn’t befriended many allies to help him along the way. He was then taken prisoner. There he met Kai and, having both similar hobbies and taste, they became friends and have been helping each other ever since. He was around when Kai’s little sister...um...passed away. He had taken her in as a little sibling too, so he was hurt when the tragic incident occurred. Then on another occasion, when a game had been over, the Exotics took him to a different prison without notice, separating him from Kai and the rest of the prisoners. That’s where he learned that they deceived the players by making FAKE EXOTICS. Since then he had been “helping” the enemies. According to the rules, he is supposed to help them; if he refuses or counter attacks them, the Cyanide pod is activated. But if the player takes these FAKE EXOTICS in as their allies, they can once again attack the real Exotics. So, apparently, before coming into play, Lay saw how the Exotics brought a young, blondish man into this specific prison area. He was alive, yet bruised. The Exotics were harshly pushing him, as he tried to , but couldn’t. He didn’t speak…he COULDN’T speak: he had a Cyanide pod already stuck to his arm… After that Lay didn’t see him again, but he kind of knew what was going to happen: he would be turned into a fake Exotic…

….just what I feared…

MJ: This is horrible… ALL OF IT! From you playing, to becoming a prisoner and separating from Kai, to serving these people... and of course, LuHan being hurt and misused… This makes me so mad… I just want to get out of here... and when I do, I’ll make sure these people are captured and arrested, even if I have to rob a bank to pay off a private detective or something… 

Kai was some-what down since we mentioned his little sister, but he was still concentrating on the road. Lay just nodded at everything I said, but was in a sulky mood too. As the “mother” of the group I should know better than talking about these things in cases like this. I should enlighten the mood a little. I let some time pass to let them forget about those horrible memories.

MJ: so…you guys…dance….seriously?!?! I mean, it’s not that males dancing is a bad thing. It’s just that… well… I would have NEVER imagined Kai dancing ballet…I thought he ran, or played some kind of MANLY sport…whoops! Their goes my stereotyping again!...um… Dancing is manly too! Especially if it is YOU guys doing it... I mean… UNF! You guys are the perfect definition of macho manly men ON THA DANCE FLOOR YO!

I got my nigga mode on, and started doing peace signs while hitting my hand over my heart, and speaking with ghetto-ish accents. The guys pretty much laughed at me for trying to cover up the fact that I had almost called them gay...Facepalm... Like, LuHan use to say, “Smooth move MAMA!!”. You just insulted your children by telling them they weren’t men!!

I was about to tell them that I like dancing men, since they show their manliness through their tight pantyhoses, but a sound caught all of our ears: splash! Kai had just stepped on a puddle…a WATER puddle! We all glanced at each other and then looked at the damp floor that lay before us. Kai smiled like a happy baby and started motioning us to keep walking; we were almost there.

Lay took all the strength he had left and started to power-walk. I caught up to him and Kai, and the three us were head-on trying to find the exit to this maze. As we continued to walk deeper in, the floor became damper and damper, until something else caught our senses: there was humidity in the air, and at the background you could hear the sound of water falling.

MJ: OH MY GOD!! We’re near water!! WATER!! God, I’m so thirsty!! We all are!! Let’s just hurry up!!

I took Lay by the arm and pulled him so he could lean on me as we practically dashed forward. He nodded and sympathetically smiled at me. Being an oppa, I think he feels like he should take care of me… I’m the one always taking care of others, so it’s nice to feel the inverse situation and know others care about me…
 

In a matter of minutes we had come face to face with the most beautiful cave tunnel I have ever seen…

It was like walking into a small reception room. Everything about the place made you feel welcomed: the water’s smooth sound, the darkened ambience, the cool breeze. There was a waterfall, a big and beautiful one. I just wanted to plunge myself into the pond and drink to my heart’s content, until I spotted something lying on the floor, near the fall’s place: they were clothing. When I’m about to tell the guys, I noticed something in between the waterfall. The boys hadn’t noticed and were already heading towards the pond, when I stopped them and pointed to the weird silhouette behind the pouring water. I looked at it for a minute and finally came to the conclusion that it was a person. But would it be safe to just catch the attention of an unknown person? What if it’s an enemy? Or it could be a prisoner… We just had to take the chance.

Whoever this person was, he or she was bathing behind the shower of natural water and hadn’t noticed us. The guys were trying to decipher the figure. I continued looking too, until Lay got off balance and stumbled forward and splashed into the pond… I knew I had to keep a hold on him… The figure finally turned, and upon seeing us got startled and submerged itself in the water, leaving only its eyes above the water surface. All three of us had our eyes fixed on this person, ready to spring into action when the time came… I knew it was time to talk.

MJ: Sorry!! We didn’t mean to bother you. We just want to drink some water and rest for a while… Are you here alone?.. Are you a prisoner?

The person didn’t answer, but found some interest in my word. The person slowly began to come closer, passing the waterfall and coming into more visible view… It was a girl; a young woman about my age.

She finally came to a stop a few feet away, without showing anything more than her eyes and nose, with a mane of hair flowing around her freely in the water. I concluded she was by the way she was covering herself with her arms, and by the fact that maybe those clothes lying on the ground were hers. I looked at Kai and Lay, the latter just finishing pulling himself out of the water:

MJ: Guys, do you think you could go back into the tunnel for a few minutes while I talk to the girl?

Both of them nodded and headed back a few meters into the tunnel from which we came from, not before giving the young woman a last glance….men… The girl was still submerged, so I couldn’t see her well.

MJ: Hi~ um…Me and my friends were just passing by since we’re looking for a way to take us to the next stage of the game. And well, we took this route and found out it had water, and well… we’re REALLY thirsty! So we thought we would drink some and take a quick dip before going on…maybe have a nap… cuz were REALLY tired!.. So…um… we were just wandering if it could be possible? You know, after you finish and put your clothes on!

I tried to sound the most friendly I could be, while smiling and showing her that I was being completely sincere. The girl didn’t make any movements or gestures as to give away what she was going to do. All I could see was that she had straighten herself a little more and I caught a faint under-water glimpse of a Cyanide pod attached to her right upper arm.

MJ: So, you’re a prisoner, right? I’m playing the game right now, and well, I already made two friends, so you’re more that welcomed to join us! The more we’ve got, the easier this games becomes, right? After all, once we finish the game everyone that has become my ally is set free. Besides, I could use the extra help!... By the way, my name is MinJeong.

The girl suddenly stood up from the water, revealing her abdomen and arm-covered chest. Her long brown hair now flowed down her body, and her face was now easier to admire…No…It couldn’t be…

She looked at me with the same expression I looked at her. She looked terribly familiar…No…she didn’t look familiar… She WAS that familiar person…But I couldn’t believe it, or maybe I didn’t want to think it…But I had to try…

MJ:…your name…it can’t possibly be….Shin HaeRi?